Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent

al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is a Salafist jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, formed on 3 September 2014 with the goal of establishing an Islamic state in South Asia. The group united various jihadist groups in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan under one banner, and it sought to overthrow the governments of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Burma as well as American interests. With 300 fighters in Pakistan (2010) and 300 in India (2014), the group was relatively small for an al-Qaeda offshoot, but its small numbers allowed for it to carry out small-scale operations. In Bangladesh, for example, it was responsible for a spate of murders targeting secularists, journalists, and non-Muslims after 2014, amidst a political crisis involving clashes between Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the secular government.